Liverpool have had a €60m (£51.6m) offer rejected for a LaLiga midfielder, according to reports from Spain.
Defensa Central reported that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez batted away the bid from Anfield for Aurelien Tchouameni, with the 23-year-old deemed not for sale under any circumstances as they consider him a hugely important player.
The France international is believed to be one of Jurgen Klopp’s primary targets, with the Reds allegedly making an approach for him last month (90min).
Liverpool look set to acquire Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton in a deal which could potentially cost less than £35m (Fabrizio Romano), but they appear to be finding it much harder to land another of their midfield targets in Tchouameni.
The Reds had also tried to sign him last year when he was still at Monaco, but the player publicly stated that once the call came from Real Madrid, his mind was made up on a move to the Bernabeu (TEAMtalk).
Rio Ferdinand gave a glowing appraisal of the Frenchman’s qualities during the World Cup last year when he said on BBC’s coverage of the tournament (via @theMadridZone on Twitter and This Is Futbol): “Tchouameni is a young kid, he’s going to make mistakes but he’s a superb talent, he produces moments out of nowhere, incredible player…He has the patience, talent, control, he has everything you need.”
The 23-year-old is one of the most reliable players in possession across Europe, his 92.9% pass completion rate putting him among the top 1% of midfielders on the continent over the past year (FBref). He also ranks in the 99th percentile among positional peers for interceptions made with 1.98 per game.
A player of such class both on and off the ball would’ve been great for Liverpool to have, but with the Mac Allister deal virtually done and conversations ongoing with the agents of Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram, the Reds could still succeed with their planned midfield overhaul even without the Real Madrid star.